Enstrom Helicopter Corporation has recently received CAAC civil type certification of the 480B turbine helicopter in China.

The 480B joins 3 other models of Enstrom helicopters now certified in China, including the current production piston powered 280FX.

The program included a week long visit by CAAC officials to Enstrom’s factory in Menominee, MI.

“We’ve had a good relationship with the CAAC going all the way back to our first aircraft certifications in the mid 90’s.  It’s always a pleasure to work with them,” said Enstrom’s Director of Engineering, Bill Taylor.  “We are excited to be adding China to the long list of countries the 480B is certified in.”

“With the expected growth in the Chinese market, this couldn’t have come at a better time,” commented Enstrom’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Mr. Tracy Biegler.  “We’ve already seen that the 480B’s rugged design, low cost, and flexibility are popular with Chinese customers.  Now that the certification hurdle has been cleared, those customers can move forward with confidence on acquiring new aircraft.”

Enstrom has just delivered the first Chinese 480B, which went to long time customer Wuhan Helicopters. The state of the art aircraft is equipped with a Garmin GPS system, an Isolair agricultural spraying system, and a Safe Flight Powerline Detection System.

Founded in 1959, Enstrom Helicopter Corporation manufactures a complete line of helicopters. The three-seat, piston-powered F28F and 280FX are popular training, sport, and light commercial aircraft. The larger turbine-powered 480B is available as a three-place advanced trainer and patrol aircraft, a 2+2 four seat training helicopter, or as a three to five place executive transport. For law enforcement applications Enstrom produces an optionally equipped variant of the 480B, known as the Guardian, and the F28F, called the Sentinel. Enstrom can be found on the Internet atwww.enstromhelicopter.com.